When the heat of the sun became too much for Kelly, burning through her black jeans and turning her arms pink, she tossed her jacket on, buckled up her helmet, and headed for home.

After a few hours of inner reflection, Kelly felt optimistic and ready to sit down with her best friend to formulate a plan. Either try to forget about what happened, chalk it up to experience, or attempt to find the unsuspecting recipient and apologise.

Annoyance shot through her when Kelly spotted a familiar shiny red car parked out the front of their flat. Damn Paula for turning up out of the blue.

It was out of character for Miss Organised, always announce your arrival so you don’t walk in on any nasty surprises, to turn up uninvited.

Without conscious thought, Kelly shot up her elderly neighbour’s driveway, parked around the back and slipped off her helmet. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she crept toward the back door, trying to stay below the fence line and out of sight.

Mrs Thompson appeared in the doorway shortly after Kelly tapped on the glass panel. “Hello, dear, what brings you here?”

“I thought I’d come by and see if you needed a hand with anything?” Kelly offered up her brightest smile, pleased Mrs Thompson wasn’t aware of the emotional turmoil bubbling just below the surface.

After changing two light bulbs for Mrs Thompson, and sharing a glass of iced tea, Kelly deemed it safe enough to return home.

*

As soon as Kelly stepped foot inside, Nicole bounded toward her.

“Give me that.” She grabbed Kelly’s helmet. “Oh my God, talk about good timing. You dodged a battle-axe.” She smirked. “I mean a bullet.”

Taking the opportunity to have some fun before things turned serious, Kelly played dumb. “Battle-axe’s, bullets, what are you talking about?”

Wide eyed, Nicole tapped her wristwatch. “Paula! She left like two minutes ago. You just missed her.” Her voice was shrill.

“Oh, really?” A smile tugged at the corner of Kelly’s mouth. She’d never been able to keep anything from Nicole for long. “Good thing I hung out with Mrs T. until she left.”

A low growl rumbled in Nicole’s chest. She narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me? You hid next door and left me to deal with your woman?”

The tone of her voice was jovial. She was no more pissed off with Kelly than Kelly would be if the tables were turned. God knew, Kelly had covered for Nicole, more than once, over the years before she’d hooked up with Steve.

“She dropped off your jacket and shoes, grumbled something about you needing to start acting like a responsible adult, sell your bike, and get a real job. I told her she needed to take the stick out from up her arse and accept you for you, warts and all.”